24 December 2012

Thursday the boys went to play with RJ for a little while. Kelly wanted to try to get some 6 mth photos of her daughter, Stella. Stella was not having it so we scrapped that idea for a future time. Instead I went shopping by myself for a bit since my boys are banned from Salvation Army. Then I went to volunteer at Amelia's school for centers time. The kids made snowflakes to send to the Sandy Hook school kids new school. The kids are going to a new school after the holidays. The nation's schools are sending snowflakes to decorate the new classrooms.

Our kids look forward to Justin's work party all year. Amelia was extra excited this year since she remembered last year's crafts and Santa gift. The kids had dinner first since meeting Santa first would have ruined their appetites. Amelia and Phillip made gingerbread ornaments during dinner. Amelia visited with Santa first. She asked him for a crayon maker. Santa gave her a cute little pony purse. Phillip just sat and smiled at Santa. Later I asked him what Santa should bring him and he responded a "gigantic candy cane." That is easy! Everett sat on Santa's lap for a candy cane. He was a bit miffed that his candy cane was defective. He tried to get Santa to peel off the cellophane. Santa gave him a gift instead. Everett decided the gift might be better than candy. Maybe. Phillip thought his gift was the best. He rolled it around, sat on it, drummed it, and carried it around all wrapped up for a good 30 minutes. Justin helped him unwrap it. He was content with his package of Lincoln Logs. We finally showed him what was inside after we got home. We stopped off at Walmart on the way home to get Mia some snow boots. Phillip licked all the snow off the bottom of his shoes. Disgusting boy!

Friday morning I was in a cleaning mode getting the upstairs cleaned up before Taylor (our babysitter) arrived. Phillip dumped an entire box of Chex on the floor. Both boys were enthralled with the crunchy sound Chex makes when stepped on. The floor was a MESS. I got that cleaned up. Then Everett dumped a container of Goldfish on the floor. The Chex was too good to be true. He was mad I made him help me clean it up. The boys' socks were encrusted with Chex and crackers. The babysitter arrived seconds after I finished cleaning up the second mess. Justin's boss, Stan, invited a small group for lunch at his home. Susan, Stan's wife, enjoys cooking to the extent of taking professional classes in Denver. She made us a crackin' meal. Blue Cheese salad, Herb encrusted pork loin, glazed sweet potatoes, green beans and mushrooms, rolls, and chocolate cheesecake. Yum.We enjoyed a fun evening with the Wood family eating sourdough bread bowls filled with potato bacon or tomato soups. Sarah made an amazing pumpkin pecan pie. We watched Elf together. Amelia has several parts memorized, YES!!!

I caught a nasty cold/flu Friday evening. I hate getting sick this time of year. Justin and I wrapped gifts while watching "Snow White and the Huntsman." Saturday the kids and I went to volunteer at Bountiful Baskets. Amelia and Ella enjoyed a playdate. Phillip was out of his mind with joy playing with Drew and Brayden. I found him attacking snow mounds with a bat, making snow balls, and chasing the big boys around. Right after dinner Phillip brought me a business card from one of the local policemen in town. The card said "Your vehicle was in an accident, please call." Turned the card over to Justin. Turns out our neighbor backed into Ole Betty Blue crimping her hood a bit. Bummer. He parked her there before the snow storm since our facing street is a snow route. Justin and I went on a date to see the Hobbit. I was not aware this was part 1 of 3. The ending left me wanting to punch something. Maybe my headache was part of the aggression.

Sister Austead was asked to sing in church Sunday at the last minute. We practiced a Sally DeFord version of O Little Town of Bethlehem minutes before church, and for a couple minutes the night before. Talk about thrown together. The spirit must have played for me because I could hardly stand in my flu sick state. Right after sacrament meeting I went home.

So far we are enjoying a quiet Christmas Eve. Amelia is crazy happy with Christmas anticipation! We took a short trip to Sterling just to get out of town. We picked up some items at Walmart, had lunch at Burger King (it has an indoor playground), stopped at two more store then went home. The sourdough bread is rising for bread bowls and clam chowder in our future. Merry Christmas!

I love doughnuts. If eating doughnuts were healthy I would eat about 3 for breakfast every morning. Since they are not deemed healthy I only make doughnuts once per year. My mom started the tradition of making goodie plates to hand out to friends and neighbors. Eventually doughnuts made an appearance. I dropped the other goodies in favor for doughnuts only. Last year was a real test in patience trying to make the doughnuts and frosting with the three kids. This year I wised up and invited others to join in the chaos. Maybe with more chaos the chaos would even out. It actually worked! The Wood family with little RJ and the Carlisle's came to join in. We munched on hot doughnuts soaked in almond or berry glaze or cinnamon sugar. Yum. We passed out plates of hot doughnuts to our neighbors. Then spent the rest of the evening talking and swapping stories. That is the best part of visiting.

The boys and I are trying (meaning I am trying) to spend more time outside even when it is bitterly cold and windy. We had a blast playing outside. The boys love playing basketball, soccer, and just rolling balls around the yard. Everett discovered the joys of digging in the dirt since we have a nice big dirt patch in the lawn. I love their rosy cheeks and smiles while we play.

Tuesday I joined about 7 other ladies at the Gull's home to make chocolates. Together we made fudge, nut fudge, almond roca, brittle, peppermint pretzels, caramel, peanut butter cups, and nut clusters. Everett was not enjoying himself so we left early for a lunch date with Stacey Hermes. She works at Walmart in HR. She is not active in the church. If we were not in the middle of McDonalds I would have said the time for coming back to the church is now. She is easily offended, but seriously after almost 4 years of visiting her she needs to come back. Then we headed home for naps and such. Everett's top molars are about 1/4 of the way through his gums...this week his bottom molars AND eye teeth decided to push through. Poor kid is plagued with the regular symptoms of teething. His most recent symptom emerged as the word "NO!" He says it in a whiny voice until I tickle him.

The weather man forecasted 5 inches of snow overnight. Not a drop of snow fell overnight. Instead it came down right during the morning school rush. By noon we had a ton of new snow. The schools got out early at 2 pm. I helped the kids in Mia's class make gingerbread houses. Amelia was quick to correct me that they made milk carton houses spread with frosting and decorated with graham crackers and candy. The kids were hyped up on sugar by the time we finished. They kids went home on that same sugar high! Amelia and I went to the dentist for teeth cleaning appointments. I got my teeth cleaned first. Amelia was a chatter box. She told the hygienist that she looked much older this time than last time. Then she spotted the dentist and said, "Mom! It is Dr Boogers!" The hygienist and I about died laughing since his name is actually Dr Peckham. She spent the entire time I was in the chair deciding which flavor of tooth polish to try out. She settled on cookie dough. Then she told the hygienist that all the outdoor Christmas light break when I get near them, that is why we have no lights outside our home. Silly goose. Once at home the kids and I suited up and played in the snow until our extremities were frozen. Then we brought in great big bowls of snow to sprinkle kool-aid packs on for a snow day treat. We cuddled on the couch watching Snow Paws. I crocheted a last minute hat for a Christmas Eve gift. After dinner we skated to the church for tithing settlement. Justin helped Amelia pay her first tithing on her chore money. It was pretty awesome hearing Justin patiently explain how tithing works and how to figure out 10 percent.